Violent protests across the UK have led to police officers some in riot gear being injured as objects such as bricks, chairs and bottles were thrown at police following a night of “unforgivable” violence in Sunderland.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said police have the Government’s “full support” to take action against “extremists” attacking officers and attempting to “sow hate” as he held crisis talks with ministers.
A Downing Street spokesman said: “This afternoon the Prime Minister convened senior Ministers including the Deputy Prime Minister, Home Secretary, Justice Secretary and the Policing Minister to discuss the incidents of public disorder and unrest we have seen in towns and cities in recent days.
“The Prime Minister ended by saying the right to freedom of expression and the violent disorder we have seen are two very different things. He said there is no excuse for violence of any kind and reiterated that the government backs the police to take all necessary action to keep our streets safe.”
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper added those engaging in violent disorder “will pay the price”.
Merseyside Police said a number of officers have been injured during “serious disorder” in Liverpool city centre.
In a series of posts on X, the force said: “Officers are dealing with a number of people engaged in serious disorder in Liverpool city centre.
“There is no place for this despicable behaviour which disrupts the lives of members of the public who live in the city, or are visiting to enjoy the amenities the city has to offer.”
A following post read: “A number of officers have been injured as they deal with serious disorder in Liverpool city centre.
“This behaviour, which puts the public and our officers in harms way, will not be tolerated. And we will be arresting those responsible.”
The far-right has drawn condemnation from MPs across the political spectrum after disorder in London, Manchester, Southport and Hartlepool over the past three days.
Planned demonstrations in cities across the country got under way on Saturday as tensions remain high after the killing of three young girls at a Taylor Swift-themed holiday club in Southport, Merseyside, on Monday.
On Saturday, bricks were thrown at officers in Stoke-on-Trent, fireworks were thrown amid tense exchanges between an anti-Islamic group and an anti-racism rally in Belfast, and windows of a hotel which has been used to house migrants were smashed in Hull. Chief Superintendent Darren Wildbore, of Humberside Police, said that “at this stage, three officers are believed to have suffered injuries”.
A chair thrown by demonstrators hit an officer on the head in Liverpool, as bricks, bottles and a flare were also thrown at police while they lined the road on The Strand in the city centre.
Another officer on a motorbike was kicked and knocked off his vehicle by a demonstrator and others tried to kick riot shields.
Bricks were thrown at a group of police officers from all directions at Mann Island in Liverpool. A masked youth threw a brick at the back of a police officer as she held her riot shield in the other direction.
A scooter was also thrown. One man collapsed to the floor after being punched. Officers moved to surround him as he lay on the floor and his head was bandaged.
Avon and Somerset Police said multiple arrests took place because of violent disorder in Bristol city centre.
A protest got under way at Castle Park following a campaign on social media with the tags “enough is enough” and “stop the boats”.
A counter protest organised by those opposed to the far-right was also taking place at the same time.
Greater Manchester Police said a dispersal notice had been authorised for the city centre and Merseyside Police said greater stop and search powers had been granted for officers to deal with planned demonstrations.
Scuffles broke out as opposing groups faced each other in Nottingham’s Market Square with bottles and other items thrown from both sides, and chants of “England until I die” and “Tommy Robinson” were drowned out by boos from the counter-protesters.
Around 150 people carrying St George’s flags shouting “you’re not English any more” and “paedo Muslims off our street” were greatly outnumbered in Leeds by hundreds of counter-protesters shouting “Nazi scum off our streets”.
Bottles, cans and sausages were thrown towards counter-protesters in Nottingham as two opposing groups faced each other in King Street.
Counter-protesters chanted “free Palestine” as those opposite them waved St George flags.
More police arrived to separate the two groups and officers were told to turn on their bodycams.
On Saturday it was not possible to search “Tommy Robinson” on TikTok, and the social media platform instead showed the message: “This phrase may be associated with behaviour or content that violates our guidelines.”
Cleveland Police denied claims that the organiser of a march in Middlesbrough on Sunday had been arrested on terrorism charges.
The force issued a statement saying a 29-year-old man was arrested on Friday over firearms offences after Mr Robinson had posted on Friday: “Lad who organised Middlesbrough march been locked up on terrorism charges.”
The weekend protests followed a night of “unforgivable” violence in Sunderland, which saw a Citizens Advice Bureau office burned down.
A priest at Sunderland Minster said yobs tried to smash a gravestone to use as missiles during widespread violence in the city, adding that they were guilty of “an act of sacrilege”.
There was further violence in Sunderland on Friday, where a police station was looted and a Citizens Advice Bureau office was set alight.
A priest at Sunderland Minster said yobs tried to smash a gravestone to use as missiles during widespread violence in the city, adding that they were guilty of “an act of sacrilege”.
The riots came after the killing of three young girls at a Taylor Swift-themed holiday club in Merseyside on Monday.
Axel Muganwa Rudakubana, 17, from Lancashire, is accused of the attack, but false claims spread online that the suspect was an asylum seeker who had arrived in the UK by boat.
Greater Manchester Police said a dispersal notice had been authorised for the city centre and Merseyside Police said greater stop and search powers had been granted for officers to deal with planned demonstrations on Saturday.
Officers also mounted a significant security operation in Belfast city centre, after a small group of anti-Islamic protesters gathered at the front of City Hall, chanting “Islam Out”.
Police in riot gear were deployed in the Northern Ireland capital as a small number of fireworks were thrown amid tense exchanges between the group and an anti-racism rally.
Around 150 people carrying St George’s flags shouting “you’re not English any more” and “paedo Muslims off our street” were greatly outnumbered in Leeds by hundreds of counter-protesters shouting “Nazi scum off our streets”.
Police in Stoke-on-Trent said they were aware of “pockets of disorder” and bricks were reportedly thrown at officers in the city.
Sunderland Central Labour MP Lewis Atkinson said a link could be drawn between the disorder in his constituency on Friday and the ashes of the English Defence League (EDL), which was founded by Tommy Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley Lennon.
The EDL has disbanded but its supporters remain active, and Mr Atkinson said evidence suggested a Nazi offshoot of the group was involved in the violence in his constituency on Friday, in which a police station was torched and a mosque attacked.
On Saturday it was not possible to search “Tommy Robinson” on TikTok, and the social media platform instead showed the message: “This phrase may be associated with behaviour or content that violates our guidelines.”
Northumbria Police Chief Superintendent Mark Hall said four officers were injured during the violence in the city and 10 people have been arrested.
He told reporters that those involved in the disorder should “expect to be met with the full force of the law”, adding: “This was not a protest, this was unforgivable violence and disorder.”
Chairman of Mosques and Imams National Advisory Board, Qari Asim, said the Muslim community is “deeply worried and anxious about the planned protests by the far right groups across the country”.
He said: “This intimidation and violence is the inevitable, devastating, outcome of rising Islamophobia that has been enabled to fester on social media, in parts of the mainstream media and by some populist leaders.”
Meanwhile, Tory leadership hopeful Robert Jenrick said “elements of the far right” appear to be involved in the rioting while fellow contender Priti Patel denounced the “thuggery” and said MPs should unite in condemnation.
Mr Atkinson said he was “really sad” for Sunderland after a group of “racists” descended on the city on Friday and attacked police, setting a police station and two cars on fire and targeting a mosque.
He added: “A night of idiots will not prevent us from building.”
Asked how the disorder had happened, Mr Atkinson told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that protests had been suggested by people in a number of social media groups in the wake of the Southport stabbings.
He said: “The far right, for example Stephen Yaxley Lennon, picked up on those and started promoting those and encouraging known far right individuals to join.”
Individuals who were involved with the EDL are “still out there” and need to be kept under surveillance, he said.
An extra 70 prosecutors will be drafted in on standby this weekend to charge people who set out to cause violent disorder as the authorities prepare to deal with dozens of demonstrations planned over the next two days.
Campaign group Hope Not Hate has identified more than 30 events taking place.
Mr Jenrick said “if there is a case” for proscribing the EDL it should be “considered”, when asked by the BBC.
Leadership contender and former home secretary Ms Patel demanded Parliament be recalled over the violence and criticised the Government response, saying: “Saying the nation is ‘braced for disorder’ is not only breathtakingly complacent, but both troubling and inadequate.
“The Government is now in danger of appearing to be swept away with events rather than maintaining control of them.”
Thousands of people had turned out to pay their respects to Bebe King, six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine, at a vigil in Southport on Tuesday.
Violence later erupted outside a mosque in the town and 53 police officers and three police dogs were. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer later condemned “thugs” who had travelled to the town to cause unrest.
The unrest poses the biggest challenge yet of Sir Keir’s premiership, evoking the scale of public disorder last seen during the 2011 riots.
There were a series of riots in August 2011 in cities and towns across England, which started in Tottenham Hale, north east London, after the killing of Mark Duggan, who was shot dead by police on August 4.
On Wednesday more than 100 protesters were arrested on Whitehall, where bottles and cans were thrown at police, while violence also broke out in Hartlepool, County Durham, and in Manchester.
On Thursday, Sir Keir announced a new “national” response to the disorder linking police forces across the country through shared intelligence and the expanded use of facial recognition.
On Friday, hundreds of people gathered in Keel Square in Sunderland, many of them draped in England flags, some of whom chanted support of Tommy Robinson, while others shouted insults about Islam.
Videos posted on social media appeared to show a fire at a city centre police office, which was marked permanently closed on Google Maps and was no longer listed on a police station finder on Northumbria Police’s website.
A mosque was targeted and separate footage on social media, said to have also been filmed in Sunderland, appeared to show a man with a swastika tattoo on his back.
Officers from Northumbria Police were “subjected to serious violence” and three were taken to hospital, the force said later.
Education Secretary and minister for women and equalities, and MP for Houghton and Sunderland South, Bridget Phillipson, posted on X, saying: “The scenes in our city centre tonight are shocking. We have seen unforgivable violence and thuggery.
“The criminals involved in this appalling disorder must be identified, prosecuted and punished with the full force of the law.”
Rudakubana is also charged with the attempted murders of yoga class instructor Leanne Lucas, businessman John Hayes and eight children, who cannot be named for legal reasons, and with possession of a kitchen knife with a curved blade.
He was remanded to youth detention accommodation and will next appear in court in October.
However, some protesters descended into violence, setting an overturned car on fire, while others targeted a mosque.
Videos posted on social media appeared to show a fire at a city centre police office, which was marked permanently closed on Google Maps and was no longer listed on a police station finder on Northumbria Police’s website.
Police in protective gear came under sustained attack as rioters set off fire extinguishers on them on High West Street.
There was also a standoff between police and protesters outside a mosque on Sunderland’s St Mark’s Road.
Police in riot gear came under attack with stones and beer cans thrown.
Some protesters argued about “two-tier policing” as the police threw a protective ring around the mosque.
Mounted police pushed back demonstrators, some of whom were in masks.
Meanwhile, customers in the next-door Aldi filmed the scenes on their phones through the shop window.
Ms Barron condemned the scenes of violence as “completely unacceptable”.
I am appalled by the disorder in the centre of Sunderland tonight.
— Lewis Atkinson MP (@LewisAtkinson) August 2, 2024
Our city is not represented by a tiny minority causing trouble.@northumbriapol have my full support as they respond to criminal thuggery and work to protect all the communities of our city.
Tomorrow the people…
She said: “I want to make it absolutely clear that the disorder, violence and damage which has occurred will not be tolerated.
“The safety of the public is our utmost priority and when we became aware that a protest had been planned, we ensured there was an increased policing presence in the city.
“During the course of the evening, those officers were met with serious and sustained levels of violence, which is utterly deplorable.
“In the face of these attacks, they showed unwavering commitment for which I wholeheartedly thank them, as I am certain the overwhelming majority of people in Sunderland will also.”
She continued: “The right to lawful protest is a key part of any democracy, which the police uphold. However, we will not accept people using them as a means to commit crime.
“We want to be clear anyone planning to involve themselves in disorder in the future should stay at home.
“We also know the behaviour displayed is in no way representative of our friendly and welcoming region.
“We therefore want to deliver a further message direct to our communities – we are aware that the actions we have seen this evening can be an attempt to drive division amongst us all and we are committed to making sure that does not happen.
“We have incredibly cohesive communities here which we are proud to be a part of and to serve.
“This is just one of the reasons which makes our region such a special place to live, work and visit. We are stronger together.”
A priest at Sunderland Minster said yobs who tried to smash a gravestone to use as missiles during widespread disorder in the city were guilty of “an act of sacrilege”.
The Reverend Jacqui Tyson said a colleague reported seeing youths were in the graveyard of the minster, which was close to where a car was overturned and set on fire, and where police were attacked with fire extinguishers.
She said: “They were trying to break up one of the graves in the minster.
“My colleague and his friend saw them and chased them off. They then locked the gates so no-one else could access the graveyard.
“It’s an act of sacrilege to disturb someone’s gravestone. It’s also remarkably lacking in common sense – have you tried to pick up a gravestone?”
Sunderland Central MP Lewis Atkinson said he was appalled by the violent scenes, which he described as “criminal thuggery”.
Tonight’s shameful scenes do not represent our culture, our history, or our people. Our great city is built on togetherness and acceptance, and Sunderland will forever be for all. We are stronger as one community. Now. Then. Always. ❤️🤍 pic.twitter.com/5HK1wZM9Lv
— Sunderland AFC (@SunderlandAFC) August 2, 2024
In a post on X, he said: “I am appalled by the disorder in the centre of Sunderland tonight.
“Our city is not represented by a tiny minority causing trouble.
“Northumbria Police have my full support as they respond to criminal thuggery and work to protect all the communities of our city.
“Tomorrow the people of Sunderland will come together and continue to build the bright future that we have – a future where every community of our city feels safe and prospers.”
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said those stoking the scenes of disorder “do not represent Britain”.
She posted on X: “Criminals attacking the police & stoking disorder on our streets will pay the price for their violence & thuggery.
“The police have the full backing of Government to take the strongest possible action & ensure they face the full force of the law.”
Sunderland AFC said the city “will forever be for all”.
“Tonight’s shameful scenes do not represent our culture, our history, or our people,” a post by the team’s X account said.
“Our great city is built on togetherness and acceptance, and Sunderland will forever be for all. We are stronger as one community. Now. Then. Always.”
Two men were arrested after protesters threw objects and shouted racist abuse at a demonstration outside a hotel housing migrants in Aldershot.
Hampshire Police said a minority of about 200 people who gathered outside the Potters International Hotel became involved in the disruption on Wednesday evening.
On Saturday, it said a 32-year-old man from Farnborough and a 60-year-old man from Farnham had both been arrested on suspicion of affray and using threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour to stir up racial hatred.
